PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT – BUILDING TALENT

2010 InnovAction Award – A Passion for Innovation

Pro Bono Net, a national nonprofit organization working to increase access to justice, is the 2010 recipient of the College of Law Practice Management’s InnovAction Award. Axiom Law has earned this year’s Honorable Mention Award. The InnovAction Awards recognize outstanding innovation in the delivery of legal services, aiming to demonstrate to the legal community what can happen when passionate professionals with big ideas and strong convictions resolve to create effective change.

Pro Bono Net was selected for LawHelp Interactive, which provides a national infrastructure for online legal document assembly and helps low-income people complete needed legal forms. Launched in 2005 with support from the Legal Services Corporation, the site was used last year to complete nearly 150,000 civil court forms covering such critical areas as child support, protection orders for victims of domestic violence, consumer debt and eviction. LawHelp Interactive also helps remove barriers to pro bono participation by making it easier for lawyers to work in areas of law where they may lack experience, and by allowing them to spend less time on paperwork and more time interacting with clients.

The Honorable Mention Award recognizes those who have transformed an existing innovation in the practice of law in a unique and valuable way. “In past years, we’ve seen several entrants who’ve taken an innovative idea to the next level and created distinct business advantages,” says Jordan Furlong, a partner with Edge International and chair of the 2010 awards program.

Axiom Law was selected for its “Function Outsourcing” initiative, which has allowed the firm to deliver complex, highly coordinated function outsourcing arrangements that result in significant cost savings and efficiency benefits for clients. (For more on Axiom, see Law Practice’s January/February 2010 cover story, “Tomorrow: A Sneak Preview.”)

The InnovAction Awards will be presented October 23 during the 2010 Futures Conference & Symposium, held in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of the College of Law Practice Management and the Fall Meeting of the ABA LPM Section in Washington, D.C. The LPM Section is a Gold Sponsor of the awards.